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GMAC, which administers the GMAT test, has extended its agreement with Pearson Vue and ACT for the development and distribution of the test for a further 12 years. GMAC signed the initial deal with Pearson (owners of the Financial Times) in 2006.

Since 2006, the number of test centres administering the test has risen to more than 550 and prospective business students can sit the test in more than 110 countries – a 37 percent growth over the five years. Over the same period the partnership has introduced securities techniques such as palm vein biometric scanning, and in June 2010 the partners announced the launch of the Next Generation GMAT, which will feature an integrated reasoning section that has been developed in consultation with management faculty from around the world. Next Generation GMAT will go live in 2012.

Dave Wilson, president of GMAC, says he is certain that publishers Pearson and ACT, the assessment specialists, are the right partners for GMAC. “With a shared commitment to creating access to management education through the GMAT exam, by expanding its global reach and maintaining the highest standards in security, reliability and validity, the act of extending our relationship with Pearson Vue and ACT is simply a testament to the faith the partners have developed in each other and in our focus on the future.”

However, the move to Pearson has increased the competition between the GMAT the the GRE (Graduate Record Examination), the traditional graduate entry exam. Both the GMAT and the GRE were previously administered by Educational Testing Services (ETS), which has now decided to market the GRE to MBA students, in direct competition to GMAT.